An advocate representing a man who has been found guilty of raping his biological daughter on Tuesday told the Pretoria Regional Court that “the rape in this case is not the most serious the court has seen”.
“There were no serious physical injuries except those caused by penetration,” Kobus Strijdom, SC, argued in mitigation of sentence.
The 38-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the daughter, was found guilty of sexual abuse of a minor and statutory rape in November last year.
The man will know his fate on March 29.
According to evidence presented to court, the man raped and sexually abused his daughter, from when she was seven, between December 2007 and April 2009.
Strijdom presented the court with various versions of South African case law where convicted rapists were given a lesser sentence compared to the sentence suggested by the State. Strijdom argued that different degrees of seriousness required different sentences.
“My submission to this court is that the rape in this case is not the most serious the court has seen,” he said.
Strijdom said he realised arguing the fact that there were no physical injuries would be unconstitutional, but when that fact was considered with other merits of the case, it could be presented to the court in mitigation.
The court heard that Strijdom was aware that his client would face a long-term jail sentence, but asked the court to show clemency when sentencing him. He told the court considering the aspects of the case, life imprisonment was not suitable in this case. “Public interest will not be served less by imposing a shorter sentence,” he said.
Earlier this month, the court heard from Brigadier Gerard Labuschagne, who has a doctorate in investigative psychology, that it was unlikely for the accused to be rehabilitated. He explained to the court that in cases where a rape took place more than once, the likelihood of a serial rapist or paedophilia existed.
State prosecutor Mariaan Blattes said the rape of any child was extremely serious, especially if the child was seven years old. She said it was ironic how Strijdom mentioned “physical injuries”, because in cases like this, grooming of the child would have taken place and there would not necessarily be violence involved.
The court heard that a recent report from a social worker indicated that the victim was struggling at school. She showed signs of anger, sexual behaviour and had sadness.
“She has been robbed of her innocence and youth,” Blattes said.
She referred to a report by forensic criminologist, Dr Frederick Sonnekus, compiled in mitigation of sentence earlier this month.
She asked the court to disregard the report as it was “one-sided” and attacked the character of the accused’s estranged wife.
Blattes said the report stated that the accused was not a repeat offender, but yet he had time to think his crime over after committing it and repeated it several times.
She urged the court to impose the full sentence as specified by the law. - Pretoria News